A Shred Of Light In A World Of Darkness
by Onyx-Of-Octavia
Summary: soulmate au. When Thomas shows up in the Glade something inside Newt clicks. Follow the boys as they figure what love is and how to deal with all the world has to throw at them.
1. Chapter 1

He didn't know why, but for some reason Newt knew today was going to be a long day. It didn't help that his leg was bothering him more so than usual, which had put him in a grumpy mood from the minute he woke up. Then Alby had gotten on him all through breakfast and into his morning routine about stepping and taking on more responsibility in the Glade, even though he was already second-in-command. On top of all that it was box day so that meant they had extra work with unloading all the supplies and everything which would only irritate Newt's leg further. He grumbled, a sound coming out more like a growl than the frustrated musings that ran through his head. It wasn't until the alarms went off, signaling the arrival of a new Glader, that Newt snapped out of his darkening thoughts.  
He stalked over to the box and started to get everyone organized, knowing that his efforts would be in vain because they would all be distracted by who ever was unfortunate enough to be this month's new greenie. He ended up snapping at few people who were just standing trying to guess who the new boy might be instead of preparing places for the new supplies. Newt glanced around the group that had assembled around trying to find one person in particular.

"Where the _bloody hell_ is Frypan?" Newt growled at one poor boy who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"I- I saw him over by the-" the poor kid didn't even finish his sentence before Newt had stormed off to where he had been pointed.

"Frypan get your bloody shuck face over to the box and get your men ready for unloading," Newt ground out through clenched teeth, the pain in his leg becoming worse with each passing minute he continued to stand on it. Frypan didn't bother with a reply, he knew better then to mess with the blond when he was in one of moods. Newt ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh of frustration, today was just not his day. After taking another few deep breaths and against his better judgment, he made his way back over to the box.

By this point everyone had gathered around and were just waiting for the box to get there so they could get on with the rest of their day. With a final metallic thunk the box arrived carrying supplies and some hopeless, pathetic newbie that, Newt knew, was just going to be another thorn in his side.

"Well are you just going to stand there or are you going to do your shucking job and open the bloody box?" Newt snapped at Gally.

Gally glared at Newt but moved to go open the box. At first nobody moved when box was opened, but another deep growl from Newt had everybody scurrying to to unload and get the greenie out into his new world. Alby chuckled quietly at Newt's anger but immediately shut when Newt fixed him with a steely glare. He shrugged and turned his attention to everyone unloading the box and Gally who had been tasked with getting the newbie out. Why they put Gally in charge of getting the newbies out of the box when the boy had a temper shorter than his narrow mindedness he would never understand. He had to quickly side step, which further agitated his leg, when Gally forced the boy out of the box and in to the grass. Newt glanced down at the boy and all he saw was a mop of short, messy, sandy-brown hair.

"Gally, you don't have to be so rough with the greenies before they even remember who they are," Newt chastised.

"Take all the fun out of it why don't you?" Gally retorted.

"I could if you don't tone it down a notch or ten," came the snarky response, "Now greenie-" Newt started to say but the boy was already halfway to the doors, running as fast as he could. Newt glared at Gally before making his way over to where the brunette had fallen. Alby appeared at Newt's side along with few of the other keepers and Chuck as he got closer to the boy.

"Damn greenie, that was some sprint you did there, for a minute thought you might make it as a runner, till you wiped out as bad as you did," Newt said.

The brunette turned to look at who had spoken and in that instant something inside Newt clicked. Without another word Newt turned on his heel and quickly made his way back to his room in the Homestead, not trusting himself with these new emotions that had started swirling inside him when he made eye contact with the newbie.

Newt! Newt, man, wait up!" Frypan yelled from somewhere behind Newt but he didn't bother to slow down or even turn around, he was just focused on getting back to his room and hiding away for the rest of the day. Frypan caught up with him at the doors to the Homestead but he still refused to stop until the other boy grabbed his and physically held him still.

"Newt, man, what the shuck? What was that back there?" the cook asked.

"Not here," Newt hissed and ripped his arm out of his friend's hold.

Frypan just nodded and followed Newt to his room, where he shut the door and proceeded to sit on the small cot. Newt glanced, unamused, at Frypan's interest in what had happened. Rolling his eyes he went and collapsed on his bed next to Frypan who just waited with a sickeningly sweet smile on his face. Newt glowered at him and threw his pillow at Frypan's face.

"Hey man, I'm not the one who flipped out and just left without a shucking word. What was up with that anyway?"

"I don't bloody know, one minute everything was normal, then he looked at me and it was like I needed to get out of there before I did something shucking stupid like a shucking slinthead,"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know… I don't bloody know… I've never felt anything like this and it scares me, it scares me Fry..."

All the anger and frustration he had building up throughout the day just seemed to slip away as he vented his soul to Frypan. Frypan just sat and listened to his friend, Newt was always there for everyone else and had always been careful to keep his emotions in check so seeing him so weak and confused made Fry want to do everything he could to be there for the boy.

"Hey let's get you some food, that might help, always helps me," Frypan said with a laugh. Newt, not knowing what else to do at that point, sighs and gets up, heading to the door. He glances back at Frypan, "Well are you coming or not?"

Frypan grins and then leads the way down to where everyone had gathered to eat. Alby is at Newt's side within seconds of him getting down there and starts calling him out for just walking away. Newt just ignores his shorter friend and goes to retrieve his food trying to keep as much attention off himself as possible.

"Newt, you're going to give the greenie his tour tomorrow got it?" Alby said after Newt had sat down and started eating. Newt froze, food half to his mouth.

"No, have Gally do it for all I care, but I am NOT doing it," Newt said.

"I don't care what you say Newt, you gotta make up for that shuck you pulled earlier when you left. The greenie ain't that bad, Chuck seemed to like him at least,"

Newt's anger was quickly returning to him, and he growled under his breath but didn't say any more, he knew it was useless fighting Alby on this, when Alby had his mind set on something it was nearly impossible to change it. By the time he was done eating all Newt wanted to do was go to sleep but he still had a keepers meeting to attend. He met up with Frypan and Winston and walked over to the Gathering hall so they could get this meeting over with, because Newt just wanted to sleep.

Thankfully the meeting didn't go on for too long, mostly just discussing what to do about the greenie, and Alby reinforcing that Newt was to be the one that gave the tour tomorrow. When it was over Newt went straight to his room, ignoring everyone in his path, he had been right about one thing, today had been a long day.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Newt was woken by Alby pounding on his door yelling at him to get ready to do the tour. Newt mumbled something incoherent and quite literally rolled out of bed, landing on the floor with solid thunk. He groaned and tenderly pulled himself to his feet and grabbed a fresh set of clothes so he could get ready for the most uncomfortable tour he had ever had to give. With an agitated sigh Newt left his room and headed down for breakfast, maybe he could delay the tour long enough that Alby would get someone else to do it. He knew that would never happen but he could always hope. Too soon had breakfast ended and Alby was dragging him over to the slammer where they had kept the greenbean for the night. Wanting to give him some space to think over his new situation before throwing him in with everybody else.

The closer they got to where the boy was, the more the trepidation in Newt's mind grew. There was something about the boy that caused new feelings to burst to life inside of him, and Newt wasn't sure how he felt about that, he didn't even know the kid.

"Alright greenie, Newt, here, is going to give you the tour today, you listen to him and do exactly what he says and there won't be any problems got it?" Alby said opening the door the cell.

The boy nodded and cautiously stepped out of the cell giving Newt his first real good look at him. He was not unattractive by any sense of the word, his build fit him almost perfectly, if he hadn't been so nervous. He had every right to be nervous too, being thrust into an unfamiliar place with no memories of who you are would do that to anybody. When he looked up at Newt, that same click that he had felt yesterday returned, it was almost as if this boy was the missing puzzle piece to Newt, but he immediately shook that thought off, that was too crazy. One person couldn't complete another when they didn't even know each other's names. Whatever this was, this weird click he felt within himself whenever he saw the boy, was probably just his sleep deprived mind messing with him.

"Come on greenie, I don't have all day to show your confused arse around, so let's get this over with so I can get on with my own work," Newt quipped, already walking away from the slammer. He didn't bother turning around to see if the boy was following him, something inside Newt told him the newbie was scampering to catch up.

"You don't have to show me around if you don't want to, I can figure it out on my own if you need to be somewhere else," the brunette said in a soft whisper when he had caught up with Newt. The words hit Newt with more meaning than they were meant to, he didn't have any reason to be such a shuckface to this boy who didn't even know his own name. Stopping suddenly, Newt let a deep breath escape his lips and turned to face the newbie.

"It's fine, I'm sorry I've been such a bloody arse, I've just been overly stressed recently, not sure why to be honest. It's not a problem, giving ya the tour I mean. I'm just tired, my leg is acting up again, and since I'm second-in-command I can't really show much weakness, ya know what I mean? They would stop respectin' my authority and we can't have that here," Newt explained, though he wasn't sure why he told the boy so much.

"Where is here exactly?" was the hesitant response.

"The Glade," Newt said bluntly, "We only got three rules here, first, do your part, we ain't got the need or space for any bloody slackers, got it? Second, never harm another Glader, things can't work around here if we can't trust each other. And lastly, don't ever, under any circumstances, leave the maze, unless you're a runner, ya got me greenie?"

The boy nodded slowly, still talking everything in. His eyes held some many questions and Newt understood how confused and lost the boy must be feeling, he had gone through the same thing when he first came up in the box. Newt slung an arm around the shorter teen and started leading him over to the box.

"So has anything come back to ya yet? Like your name? It would be nice to call ya something other than greenie or newbie," Newt queried as they approached the box.

"Uh, nothing yet, I thought I remembered something but when I tried to focus on it my head protested and what it was, it slipped back into the darkness in my mind,"

"Well don't go pushin' yourself too hard trying to remember things you probably never will. You're no use to us if you can't work. Your name though, give it day or so, that's the one thing guaranteed to come back to ya. Now then this here's the box, but you have already been intimately introduced to the thing, and there isn't much to it than that. It gives us supplies once a week, and once a month it pops out a new greenie, this month you were the poor sap who was gifted to us,"

Newt continued to show the newbie around, answering a question here and there while being distinctly vague about most everything unless it was something the brunette needed to know at that specific moment. Newt explained the different jobs that they had around the Glade, showed him where meals were held, the bathrooms, and explaining who was in charge of what.

"Tonight we'll be a having a bonfire to welcome you, so ya better show up, it'd be rude to skip your own party," Newt said at the end of the tour. The newbie nodded not really sure what to do now, it wasn't like he really knew anybody besides Newt.

"So, uh…um… what should I do until then?"

"Stay out of trouble, get a bed, I don't know," Newt replied with shrug, he really just wanted to get away from the boy because something was stirring in him and Newt wasn't sure if he ready to delve into what it may be.

"Oh, okay," the greenie said almost dejectedly, looking like a lost puppy.

"I guess you can stick with me for now, just don't get in the way got it?" Newt's mouth was moving and words were coming out before he could stop himself. He would've taken it back and told the greenie to go mind his own business, but the smile that lit up across the shorter teen's face sent a rush of joy through Newt and he just couldn't find it in his heart to tell the boy no.

"Really?"

"I said yes didn't I? Don't make me repeat myself or I'll send you to find Chuck and get settled in with him," Newt quipped.

The newbie nodded, the stupid grin never faltering once. Newt knew this was a bad idea, if what he had started feeling since the greenie had arrived was any indication. Yet something was telling Newt that this boy was important and once again the sudden urge to protect him washed over Newt like one of Gally's punches, hard and fast.

The greenie followed Newt around for the rest of day, doing his best to stay out of the way and not asking too many questions, he seemed content to just be in Newt's presence. Again, Newt found himself comparing the boy to a lost puppy who he had been stupid enough to throw a bone to. When it came time to eat Newt went to sit with Alby, Frypan, Winston, and Zart, but the brunette hesitated when he saw Alby. Newt noticed this and walked back over to him to make sure he was alright.

"What's the problem greenie? Aren't you going to join us?" Newt asked.

"Uh… y-yeah, I guess,"

"They don't bite, well Alby can be a bit of twat from time to time, but he's a good guy once you get to know him. He's just stressed right now, the only one who you need to watch out for around is Gally, he can right prick sometimes," Newt said as he guided the greenbean over to their table so he could meet everyone.

"Everyone this is, well he still hasn't remembered his name yet, so this is the newbie. Greenie this is Zart, Frypan, he makes the food here so don't let him hear you complaining about how tasteless it is," Frypan laughed and flicked a chunk of tomato at Newt, "You know I'm just messing with ya shank. Then we've got Winston, and I believe you already know Alby,"

Alby grunted and continued eating his food, giving no other indication that someone new was sitting at his table. Newt just shrugged off the weird behavior of his first-in-command and started asking Zart how the crops were doing. At one point during the meal Frypan caught his eye and gestured to the greenbean, his expression clearly asking an explanation of what had happened that day. Newt mouthed 'later' in answer and went back to his previous conversation. After they had finished eating Frypan pulled Newt aside.

"So?" Frypan asked not even trying to hide his knowing smirk.

"So what?" Newt said trying to be as nonchalant and vague about what his friend was referring to.

"Man don't go being a slinthead about it, you know what I'm talking about, so you better tell me what happened today or I'll him you li-ike him," Frypan joked.

"Fine, but not now, we gotta go get set up for the bonfire," Newt growled.

Frypan seemed appeased with the answer and slapped Newt on the back before leading them back over to the rest of the group was waiting for them. Newt and Alby started giving out orders and once done everyone moved off to do what they needed to, leaving Newt and the newbie alone at the table.

"Well I need to get ready, you can wait here, or…" Newt wasn't sure where he was going with that sentence, "I mean I guess I can show you where to find me if you ever need me…"

Before the brunette could answer Newt had grabbed his wrist and was dragging him up to Newt's room. Neither boy said anything when they entered the tiny room. Newt walked over to the small dresser, really just a box that he had Gally make for him so he wasn't leaving clothes on the floor, and started rummaging through in attempt to find something decent to wear for the bonfire. The greenie plopped himself down on the edge of the bed, remaining silent as the blond scoured his minuscule wardrobe. One thing most people didn't know about Newt was that he was a very intense perfectionist, and always needed things to be in order, and always have himself look at least halfway presentable.

"Which one?" Newt asked, holding two different shirts, one loose and cream colored, the other a tight fitting burnt orange tank top, "Well, which one?"

"Uh… I-" the newbie was cut off by a knock at Newt's door.

"Who the bloody hell could that be?" Newt murmured to himself, going over to answer the knock.

"Hey Newt, man, I thought we might finish that talk we were having earlier?" Fry said with a teasing wink.

"Fry, now really isn't the best time for that," Newt hissed and pushed the dark skinned boy out into the hall and shut the door behind him.

"W-what did he want?"

"Hmm? Oh, Fry? Nothing, just some shuck about what food he should prepare for tonight," Newt lied easily, not wanting the other boy to know about what he was feeling. "So before that shank interrupted us, you were going to tell me which shirt you liked better, yes?"

"Uh, right, I, uh, like them both…"

"Well that's shucking helpful,"

"Well maybe you could wear both, the white over the orange? Then if you get too warm you can take the white one off and not be shirtless, ya know?" he finished lamely, running a hand through his messy hair and refusing to look at Newt. Newt seemed to ponder the suggestion for a moment before making his final decision. Newt nodded in absolution to himself and began to remove the shirt he was currently wearing. The other occupant of the room immediately flushed and began stuttering hopelessly as Newt changed in front of him.

"What, you got a problem with me changing in my own room?" Newt asked as he slipped the orange tank on effectively shutting the boy up.

"N-n-No, it's just, uhh..."

"Just what? Just so amazed at how gorgeous I am?" Newt teased without a second thought.

The greenie sputtered but couldn't form a sentence to save his life at that moment.

"I'm just messing with you, ya shank, plus you're going to have get used to people stripping in front you, happens more often than you'd think, some of the other boys here who work in the fields don't like to be constricted when they work,"

At this point the brunette was about as red as he could get before blood flow to his other extremities would be a problem. Newt chuckled and figured he should put the boy out of his misery, so headed to the door, now ready to head out to the bonfire. Glancing back with a devilish smirk, "Ya coming shank?"

Newt lead them of into field just outside of the Homestead where everyone had gathered around a large fire pit.

"Everybody here?" Alby asked after Newt and the greenbean had showed up. A series of shouts and cheers erupted from the crowd, "Alright then let's start this party and welcome the newest member to our family!" Alby yelled, lighting up the fire.

The party was really hitting it off but Newt couldn't find the guest of honor anywhere among the crowds. Grabbing a jar of Gally's moonshine, something everybody had to experience at least once in their life, he went off in search of the boy who made him question all his boundaries. He found him sitting alone against a log not too far away from the party.

"There you are!" Newt said as he sat down by the boy, "Here, you need to loosen up, plus it'll help put a little hair on your chest," he handed the newbie the jar of of Gally's moonshine knowing the reaction would be a great one with how skittish the boy had been so far.

"Oh- Oh God, what the- what is that?" the greenie asked after a glorious spit take.

"Not actually sure, Gally makes it, we also use it to sterilize cuts and what not, it's a pretty toxic whatever it is, but it loosens people up when they want to relax," Newt told him.

"It's awful!"

"Yeah, it really is," Newt said before taking another drink.

"And yet you still drink it?"

"Why not? Sometimes you just need to escape the pain and confusion we deal with here on a daily basis and let go," Newt replied handing the jar back to the shorter teen.

"Is it really that bad here?"

"It was worse at the beginning," Newt whispered, "But that's not important, this party is for you and you're over by yourself, can't have that now, come on get up, I'll introduce to some people, good that?"

Newt pulled the other up and lead him around the party introducing him to other gladers and getting him acquainted with some of keepers he would be working with in the next few days. Then they too the fight circle, where Gally was celebrating his latest victory.

"Hey, yo greenie wanna try?" Gally called out from the circle.

"Go for it! I bet you can take him!" Newt giggled, obviously letting the moonshine get to him.

The brunette looked hesitant but stepped in the circle nonetheless. The fight didn't last long, Gally ended up winning, surprising no one, but when his head the ground after the final hit one positive thing happened.

"T-Thomas," he called out, "My name is Thomas," he suddenly shouted and hugged Newt.

"Thomas!" Alby yelled, clapping the boy in the shoulder.

"Tommy," Newt said in soft voice right by his ear.

Thomas smiled broadly at Newt, "You can call me Tommy when ever you want. It's good remembering who I am to some degree," Thomas said and pulled Newt into a hug. The rest of the night was blur, all Newt remembered was that Thomas had somehow ended up in his bed that night.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning Newt woke feeling warmer and and more relaxed then he would have thought possible after a night of drinking and partying. He let out a content hum and pulled his pillow closer to him. 'Pillow?' He thought as he buried his face deeper into the warmth that was radiating from in front of him. 'Wait,my pillow is under my head… The bloody hell am I holding?' Newt's eyes shot open and he was greeted with a familiar mop of messy, brown hair. 'What the bloody fuck! What happened last night? Why is Thomas in my bed? Oh god! We didn't- did we?' Newt pulled himself away from the other boy, careful not to disrupt Thomas' sleeping form, and slipped off the bed. Glancing down he sighed in relief, he was still fully clothed from the waist down. 'Thank fuck for that,' he thought as he started to rack his brain for any memory that could explain how he woke up in this situation. Maybe someone had seen what had happened between him and Thomas after the boy had remembered his name, because for Newt it was just a dark blur of Gally's moonshine. Frypan would be the most likely to know anything, since he refused to touch that poison after an embarrassing night when he tried to fly, naked, off of a table.

Throwing on the orange tank from the night before, Newt went off in search of the cook. It didn't take him long to find Frypan, the guy was passed out in his room, snoring so loudly Newt was amazed he didn't wake himself with how loud it was.

"Wake up ya bloody shank!" Newt barked as he attempted to shove Frypan onto the floor, "I think it's time we finish that talk we were having yesterday,"

"Wha- What day is it? Are the spices okay?" Frypan asked in a sleepy haze, "Wha- Newt? What are you doing here? Is there a problem?"

"Yeah there's shuckin' problem! I can't remember what the bloody fuck happened last night! And I woke up with the greenie in my bed! And then there's the fact that whenever I'm around him he's all I can bloody think about, and when I'm not with him it feels almost wrong! What the _bloody fucking hell_ is going on with me? And what does that boy, Thomas, have to do with it? Damn it Fry, just, fuck…" then in a smaller voice that Frypan almost missed if he hadn't been watching his distressed friend with such intense curiosity, "Help me,"

"Boy, I don't what to tell ya about what you're feeling for the newbie, but I'll try to help fill you in on what happened last night, good that?"

Newt grunted, the only response Frypan was going to get out of him at the moment.

"Alright, what do you remember? It might help if I knew where to start from,"

"The last thing I remember clearly, is Thomas remembering his name,"

"Okay, yea, I kind of remember what happened after that, I think. So after the boy hugged you kind of, well I'm not sure how best to describe it, I guess the best way would be to say you pounced on him. It was like something had possessed you and you wouldn't let anyone near the greenie, every time someone tried to get close to the two of you, you started to growl at them like a wild animal. You refused to let him out of your sight, and then after Alby had tried to pull away to ask you what was going on, you freaked the fuck out. Shouting about how Thomas was yours or something and you guys were meant to be with each other because a voice in your head told you. Thankfully Thomas stopped you before you got physical with Alby. He pulled you aside and calmed you down a bit, not sure how he did it, considering how crazed you had been acting, but when you came back over to the group, still keeping a possessive arm wrapped around the boy, you told us all that you guys were going to bed and we'd all be fucking slintheads if we bothered you. I think about sums it up," Fry explained.

"Oh god, Alby is gonna kill me isn't he?" Newt groaned and tried to hide himself in Fry's pillow.

"I think I heard him talking about it with Gally," Fry joked, earning him, once again, a pillow to the face, "So what **is** going on with you and that boy?"

"I don't know, I told you that already. It's like something inside me is calling out to be with him, but I don't know him so how can I feel like this? When I look at him all my stress seems to melt away and I know everything will be okay, but how can I trust someone I don't bloody know? Why am I feeling this way? God! Just, _bloody fucking hell_ ,"

"Man that's some heavy shit. I suggest you figure out whatever this is you have with that boy, and soon. And maybe tell Alby about it, in case you have another episode like last night, that way he doesn't actually consider banishing ya,"

Newt knew Frypan was right, as much as he hated to admit it. He knew he should go find Alby and try to explain what was going on, he knew he should talk to Thomas about what happened last night, he knew what he should do, but all Newt wanted to do was go back to his room and go back to sleep with Thomas next to him. With a despondent sigh Newt forced himself off Frypan's bed and moved to the door, not looking forward to the conversation he needed to have with Alby. With a final breath he waved goodbye to Frypan and trudged back to his room. He scribbled a quick note for Thomas, who was still sleeping soundly on Newt's bed, then went to find Alby.

Turns out he didn't have to go very far to find his first-in-command, as Alby was heading up the stairs to find Newt when they bumped into each other.

"We need to talk, now," Alby's tone left no room for argument. Newt agreed quietly and followed the older boy to the Gathering Hall, it was one more private places in the Glade. The walk over was filled with a heavy sense of dread for Newt, he had no idea how Alby was going to react when Newt told him about this weird connection he had with Thomas. Newt prepared himself for the worst, especially after he remembered what Frypan had told him about the previous night. By the time the two had reached the Gathering Hall Newt had worked himself up so much, he just about turned and bolted back to the Homestead. Alby must have noticed because he grabbed Newt's wrist and dragged Newt inside, shutting the door and locking it behind him.

"You want to tell me what the fuck happened to you last night?" Alby asked, evidently not wanting to deal any niceties and just get right to business.

"Not really but I don't have much of a choice do I?" Newt retorted, sarcasm dripping from each word.

"No, you don't, now, I'll ask you one more time, what happened last night?"

"I'm honestly trying to figure that out myself. I had to ask Fry what happened after Thomas remembered his name because I don't buggin' remember shit. I guess I got a little carried away with whatever happened though, sorry?"

"Sorry? Newt, you nearly got in a fist fight with me because I needed to you talk alone! You made a couple of the younger kids cry when they tried to talk to Thomas! You're normally more composed than that, even when you drink too much, so gotta give me something to tell people or, I don't know I'll do. Whatever is going clearly has something to do with Thomas, so if you have any answers I'd love to hear them,"

"What do you want me to say? I'm still tryin' to figure out what the fuck is going for myself, so I most definitely don't have any answers for you. All this shuck started the day Thomas arrived here and it's just been spinning down, out of control since then,"

"What started when Thomas arrived?"

"Everything," Newt started and began to tell Alby about all he had felt, and all that had happened since Thomas had been gifted to their community. He never got to finish though, the alarm signaling a new arrival blared out across the Glade. Alby and Newt exchanged concerned looks before rushing out to the box. Everyone had already congregated, and Newt could see the nervous looks being passed around. Thomas appeared at his side, giving him a worried look that Newt hated to see on such a handsome face.

"What's going on?" Thomas whispered to Newt.

"Don't know, but that alarm only sounds when a we get a new greenie," Newt answered, unconsciously slipping his hand into Thomas'.

"Alby, what the fuck is going on?" Gally demanded from somewhere in the crowd.

"You tell me, I'm just as confused as the rest of you," Alby retorted. Gally just glared and situated himself so he could get who ever the new greenie was out of the box. When the box released it's final clank, Alby and Gally pulled open the doors but froze when they looked inside. Newt stepped forward, pulling Thomas behind him.

"Alby wh- oh," Newt said.

"What's going on?" someone shouted from the crowd.

"It's… a girl," Newt exclaimed, confusion lacing each word.

"Is she okay?" Thomas asked quietly.

"Gally, go down and see if she's okay," Alby ordered before Newt could stop him.

"Hey! Girl! You alive?" Gally yelled at her while shaking her slightly, trying to get her to wake up, "I think she's dead,"

"Thomas!" she shouted out in a winded voice before passing out once more.

Newt's eyes widened and he turned to the boy beside him. Thomas looked scared, and once again tried to run away from the crowd. Unfortunately Newt still had a firm grip on his hand so he didn't very far before Newt was pulling Thomas back to him.

"Tommy, do you recognize her?" Newt asked calmly.

Thomas was about to answer when Alby stepped in, grabbing Thomas' shirt in his fist and jerking the boy forward.

"Boy! You got something to tell us? Cause from where I'm standing it seems like you might have answers you ain't letting the rest of know," Alby growled darkly.

"Alby, calm down, look he's just scared right now, he obviously doesn't know anything, or at least nothing useful, so lay off," Newt said in attempt to calm the fuming leader. He tried to pry Alby's hand off of Thomas' shirt, which Newt noticed was actually one of his. "Look yelling at each other isn't going to do any good, you know that Alby. Why don't we just take an hour or so to calm down then we can have a Gathering and try to talk this out then,"

Newt wasn't second-in-command for nothing, his levelheadedness came in handy when things got too out of hand. Alby seemed to consider these words and finally gave a short nod before turning and marching off to cool off.

"And you guys say I have anger problems," Gally said, slightly shocked at what had just happened. With that Gally walked away to gather his own thoughts before the Gathering. Newt turned to look at Thomas who still appeared to be shock after happened with Alby.

"Come on, I want to hear what you have to say before the others start twisting your words to fit what they want to hear," Newt said and started off to the Homestead. Thomas scurried after him, not wanting to be left alone after what just happened. They settled themselves in Newt's room once again and Thomas curled up on the bed, hugging Newt's pillow for comfort. Seeing how scared and nervous Thomas looked made Newt's heart ache, all he wanted to do was go over and hug the boy until he felt better. But Newt needed to get him to talk before the Gathering or nothing would get resolved.

"Tommy? Are you okay? Alby, well I'm not sure what he's gonna do, but that's not important right now. What's important is you being honest with me if you know anything about that girl. Okay? I'm not gonna be mad at you, but I can't help defend you if you don't give me anything to work with, good that?" Newt scooted over so he was only sitting a few inches away from Thomas.

"O-okay," Thomas finally said, "I don't think I know her, but something in the back of my mind is screaming otherwise. It's kind of like what I feel about you, but less,"

"Wait, wait, what do you mean, 'What I feel about you,'?" Newt asked, not expecting to get to this conversation just yet, but not wanting to miss the opportunity either. "Because if can explain why, when we locked eyes when you first got here I felt the sudden need to claim you as mine I would certainly appreciate it,"

"Wait, what? You felt it too? I thought, actually I'm not sure what I thought, but I guess it would explain last night,"

"Bloody hell, we don't have time for this. As much as we need to talk about whatever this is, we need to get back to the girl," Newt said, his words filled with exasperation.

"R-right, uh, like I said I don't think I know her, but maybe I do,"

"Well can you tell me if knowing her is a good or bad feeling?"

"Um, I think it's a good thing, I don't think she would've been sent to hurt us, but I could be wrong,"

"Alright, I trust you, but that doesn't mean the others will, unfortunately,"

"What happens if they don't believe me?" Thomas asked though he wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"It depends on what everyone votes for, but I'll do my best to fight in your favor," Newt said and wrapped an arm around Thomas in a half hug. Thomas sighed and rested his on Newt's shoulder, he wanted nothing more then to never leave that room. Newt squeezed Thomas before pulling away to get up.

"Come on, we best start over to the Gathering Hall," Newt said, offering his hand to Thomas. Thomas took Newt's hand and together they walked over to the Gathering Hall, not noticing they were still holding hands. They made it maybe half way there when, out of no where, someone came charging straight for Newt and Thomas.

Whoever it was had their sights locked on Thomas, because they didn't hesitate to ram Newt out of the way before tackling Thomas to the ground. Thomas didn't recognize the boy who was now screaming in his face about how Thomas was the who caused all this. The boy was whiter than a sheet, his eyes were bloodshot, and all of his veins were bulging and pulsing with a dark, sickly green color.

"YOU!" He screamed in Thomas' face, before trying to sink his teeth into Thomas' neck.

"Ben!" Newt cried out, "What the fuck is wrong with you?" Newt was trying his hardest to pull the larger boy off Thomas but to no avail.

"Hold still greenie!" someone shouted at Thomas before Ben was forcefully flung off of him. Looking up Thomas found Gally standing over him with a shovel in his hands, breathing heavily. "You okay there shank?"

"I think so, thanks for that, I guess I owe you now," Thomas taking the Gally's hand to help him up.

"I'll hold you to that greenie," Gally remarked then turned his attention back to Ben, who was now rolling around on the ground muttering something about Thomas being bad.

"Ben, what the shuck? You know the rules, never harm another Glader," Newt shouted at the boy.

"He's the one you should be scared of! He's why we're all here in the first place! He's going to get you all killed, just let me kill him!" Ben yelled, madness gleaming wickedly in his eyes. Once again Ben lunged at Thomas but Gally hit the crazed boy upside the head with the shovel, effectively knocking him out.

"What the hell?" Thomas gasped.

"Med-jacks!" Newt called, "Tie him down when you get him to the med hut, good that?"

The two med-jacks nodded in sync before carting Ben off and away from the crowd that was now gathering. Newt sighed heavily, knowing what was once a fairly simple Gathering just got a lot more complicated.

"Come on, let's get to the Gathering Hall before something else happens," Newt said putting his arm around Thomas' shoulders to lead him away. Gally followed behind them, keeping quiet about what had just happened. The rest of the walk was much more anti-climatic, not that much could top the previous events.

"You're late," Ably stated when the three boys arrived.

"Sorry, we ran into a problem," Newt replied.

"More like a problem ran into you," Gally retorted.

"Explain, now," Alby ordered as Newt and Gally took their respective places in the hall.

"Ben attacked Thomas," Gally said bluntly.

"What? Greenie, you're just everybody's favorite person aren't you?"

"I-" Thomas started but was cut off by Newt.

"Thomas didn't do anything to Ben, Ben just came out of no where and tackled Thomas to the ground screaming at him and trying to bite him. Thomas hadn't even met Ben before this, so whatever caused Ben to freak out like that had nothing to do with Thomas," Newt stated firmly.

"Fine, we'll leave that for now, until something comes up otherwise. Now back to the girl, greenie do you know her?"

"I don't think so," Thomas answered honestly, "Maybe, but I can't remember,"

"Well she seemed to know you, so I figure that means you know her,"

"Alby, jeez, just lay off the boy will ya? Why are you so adamant that Thomas is connected to the girl?" Newt asked, annoyed that Alby was being being so narrow minded.

"Newt's right, what has Thomas done to make you so against him?" Gally asked, "I barely know him but he doesn't seem that bad, and that's coming from me," he finished with a pointed look.

"So what do you suggest we do about this Gally? Seeing you seem to like the boy," Alby snapped.

"Nothing. He hasn't done anything. I don't even know why we're having this shucking Gathering,"

"Gally makes a good point, why exactly are we having this Gathering?" Winston, a scrawny boy with bad acne, asked.

"Because, because," Alby began.

"If you can't give us a good reason other than your own paranoia then I'm leaving," Newt said, standing up. The other keepers seemed to agree with Newt as they also started to get up to leave. Gally gave Newt a final nod and was the first to exit the hall, soon followed by the rest of the keepers. Newt walked over to Thomas and motioned for him to follow.

"I'm sorry Alby, but I can't go along with whatever this was if you don't have any real ground put Thomas on trial for," Newt said solemnly before he too left, Thomas right on his heels.

"So, I'm guessing that didn't go as planned?" Thomas asked when they were back at the Homestead.

"No, it most definitely did not," Newt laughed, "Come on, we still have another discussion to finish, one that is just a bit more relevant to our current situation,"

"Just a bit," Thomas snorted as he and Newt entered the blond's room.

A thick veil of awkwardness settled over the boys after they both sat down on the bed. Neither knew how to start this conversation, but both knowing they needed to talk about this connection they had.

"It doesn't bother me," Thomas finally said, breaking the silence.

"What?" Newt looked up shocked by the statement.

"The connection, or whatever it is we have, it doesn't bother me. I mean, yeah, I know I don't really know you, but something in me is telling me that I'm meant to be with you. Does that make sense, am I rambling? I'm rambling aren't I? God why can't I just shut up?"

Before Thomas could berate himself any further Newt had leaned over and pressed his lips against the brunette's. As quickly as the lips had come they were gone, leaving Thomas speechless and wide-eyed.

"Sorry," Newt said, turning away and running a hand through his hair.

"Why are you apologizing for?"

"What?"

"I never said I didn't like that, and I certainly don't remember pushing you away," Thomas said, gaining more confidence with each word.

"Is that so?" Newt asked, turning back around, a playful smirk tugging at his lips.

Thomas nodded his shyness taking control once more. Newt's smirk was very prominent as he leaned back over and returned his lips to Thomas'. Soon enough Newt had Thomas underneath him as newt planted small kisses along the smaller boy's jaw. Newt moved over to Thomas' ear where he proceeded to lick and bite along the shell, pulling the most intoxicating from Thomas.

"N-Newt, Newt stop," Thomas whined.

"Hmm?"

"We should stop, before this goes too far, not that I'm opposed to it, but I feel like we should try to get to know each other before we…you know…" Thomas trailed off.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Newt said pulling away, but not removing himself from Thomas' lap. "So I guess we should start getting to know each other because I want to do that again and soon,"

Thomas laughed and tried to sit up, which was a struggle with the blond still on his lap.

"I said we should get to know each, that doesn't mean I'm moving," Newt said and stuck his tongue out. "Now then, what's your favorite color?"

Before Thomas could answer Gally had burst into the room, "Guys, she's awake,"


	4. Chapter 4

"Newt get your ass off the greenie, we need to go see what this girl knows," Gally quipped, not bothered by the fact that he had interrupted the two boys, "Come on, Clint and Jeff can only keep her locked in the med hut for so long,"

"Fine, lead the way," Newt said as he begrudgingly crawled off of Thomas' lap. He grabbed Thomas' hand and together they followed Gally over to the med hut.

"Has she said anything?" Newt asked.

"No, she just keeps demanding to see Thomas. Alby is about ready to go in there and shut her up, or at least he was last I saw. What's up him lately?" Gally asked.

"No bloody clue,"

"You! Greenie! You better have some answers! Because you said you didn't know who she was, but clearly she knows who you are," Ably snarled when the trio approached the med hut.

Thomas took a step back, Alby's anger seemingly like an invisible barrier around him, keeping everyone a respectable distance away. Gally's hand slid down to rest on the handle of the knife that was hanging from his belt. Newt followed in suit, with how sporadic Alby had been acting earlier, and now this, Newt wasn't sure if he should trust their leader with such a delicate situation. A few of the other onlookers noticed this and readied themselves in case things took a turn for the worse.

Alby seemed to notice this as well because he backed away from Thomas and took a few deep breaths. Newt relaxed himself slightly and lead Thomas around Alby and over to the med hut, never once taking his eyes off Alby until he and Thomas were both safely inside the hut. Safe from Alby, but once Newt closed the door a knife flew past his face and embedded itself in the wood.

"The bloody fuck?" Newt asked turning to face the girl who was holding another knife, looking ready to lunge and sink the blade into Thomas or himself.

"Who are you? I asked for Thomas, not some blond, British, beanpole," she scowled at Newt.

"Hey, hey, calm down, I'm Thomas," Thomas began.

"I know that, I'm not blind," she snapped, "That's not my point, who is he, and why is he here?"

"I'm Newt, I'm second-in-command here, now will you just put the knife down so we can have a calm discussion about what the fuck is going on?"

The girl cautiously lowered the knife but didn't release it, still not entirely sure of whether or not to trust Newt. Newt just sighed, knowing that was probably the best he was going to get. Thomas spared a glance to the blond and gave a short nod. Newt returned the gesture and followed the dark haired boy's lead as they slowly moved to sit on the bed opposite the girl.

"Look, you seem to know who I am, but I have no idea who you are, so want to enlighten us?" Thomas asked, figuring it would be better if he did the talking.

"Tom, you don't remember me, I'm hurt," She mocked, tone harsher than it was meant to be because of the stress of the situation, "Sorry, but you seriously don't remember me?"

Thomas shook his head in the negative, "Should I?"

"Well it's not like we practically grew up together or anything. I guess they really did a full wipe on you," She ended, a sad smile gracing her pale face.

"Look you seem to have a lot of answers, so I would appreciate if you could do your little reunion or whatever this is later and start telling us what you know," Newt quipped, not really sure why he was feeling so hostile towards the girl.

"Fine," she started with a dark glare at Newt, "My name is Teresa, and unfortunately, blondie, I can't clearly remember most of what happened before I woke up here. Just bits and pieces, flashes of conversations, but I don't think I have the answers you want," She snapped at Newt.

"Hey, calm down you two. You guys don't even know each other, so don't start hating just yet," Thomas said in attempt to bring peace back into the picture. Newt let out a quiet growl but otherwise remained silent.

"You said something about me being wiped, what did you mean by that?" Thomas asked, the only one of three not glaring at the others.

"They did it to everybody before sending them into the maze,"

"Maze?" Thomas asked, forgetting that Newt had mentioned the maze when he was showing Thomas around.

"Yes maze, seriously Tom, haven't you even once questioned where you were?" Teresa asked, though not surprised by Thomas' cluelessness.

"Uh… I've been a bit preoccupied," Thomas answered, nervously running a hand through his hair and finding the floor increasingly more interesting. Newt chuckled from beside him and slipped his hand into Thomas', hoping to give some sort of reassurance.

"Preoccupied? What the hell is there to be preoccupied with in this shit-hole? And you!" she turned to Newt, "Why didn't you tell him about the maze? If you're the second-in-command shouldn't you have told him where he is? What the fuck have you been doing for the past two days?" Teresa raged, anger rising with each word.

"Look, Teresa, I'm sorry I don't remember you! But unless you can give us something more substantial to work with we're leaving, we have better things to do than sit here and listen to you berate us," Thomas snapped. He pulled Newt up from the bed and began walking towards the door.

Teresa huffed in annoyance, "Fine, I'll tell you what I can, but it's not much,"

"Anything is better than nothing," Thomas prompted sitting back down on the bed.

"Well to start this place is just a giant maze, and you," she pointed at Thomas, "and I had something to do with it's creation. It's part of a series of trials, I think. And I was sent to be the trigger,"

"Trigger? Bloody hell does that mean?" Newt asked.

"I don't know. But my guess is it's probably not good,"

They were interrupted by Gally slamming the door open, looking frantic, "Alby's gone into the maze,"

"Shit! Why the shuck would he go into the maze? Why didn't you stop him?" Newt asked, brow furrowed in agitation.

"I don't know why he did it, he just kept muttering something about finding answers. And I _did_ try to stop him, but the look in his eye and the fact that he was holding his bow drawn- I was more concerned with not getting killed," Gally retorted.

"Fuck, bloody fucking shit. Go get the keepers, we need to have a gathering, a real one, tell them to be ready in ten minutes," Newt commanded. Gally nodded and left the med hut to do as told.

"What do we do? Isn't one of your rules; Never leave the Glade, unless you're a runner? Alby isn't a runner is he?" Thomas queried.

There's not much we can do 'cept hope a runner will find him and bring him back in one piece. As for being a runner, well since Alby is the leader, and since he was the first one here, he technically is a runner. But he hasn't gone out into the maze in for-bloody-ever,"

"Oh, I guess that makes sense,"

"Now you two," Newt started, pointing and both Thomas and Teresa, "Are going to be at the gathering, because at least one of you might be able to help us, whether I like it or not," Newt gave Teresa a pointed look. With that Newt stalked out of the room, most likely to gather his thoughts before the gathering. Thomas went to follow after the blond but Teresa grabbed his wrist, stopping his pursuit.

"Tom, what the hell?" Teresa snapped, "You seriously don't remember me, what we did, why you're here, why we're all here? And what the fuck is with blondie? What's got his panties in a twist?"

"No, I don't remember you, and I'm not sure I want to. As for _Newt,_ he's just frustrated, ever since you showed up a few hours ago, I guess things have been going to hell," Thomas stated bluntly, "Now if you'll excuse me I need to go find Newt and talk about, a lot," Thomas ended with a sigh, he then ripped his arm out of Teresa's grasp, turned heel, and left a very shocked and confused girl behind.

It didn't take Thomas long to find Newt, the blond was sitting under a tree not too far from the med hut. Thomas didn't say anything, just plopping down to join Newt in the cool shade. Newt looked over at the brunette, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Thomas felt his heart skip a beat, even under all the stress Newt still looked adorable. Newt's smile broadened as he saw the blush spread across Thomas' cheeks.

"What's going through that dense head of yours Tommy?" Newt teased.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing, I just can't believe I've only been here what, two, two and half days? And it feels like it's been forever, you know?" Thomas answered looking out at the Glade.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, your appearance really spiced things up around here," Newt smirked, "But we can't dwell on that right now, got a gathering to go to," Newt stood up, offered his hand to Thomas, and together they made their way to the gathering hall.

They entered the gathering hall, most of the keepers were already there, Gally and Winston were still absent, and Teresa was also missing. It wasn't long before Gally arrived, dragging Winston in with him. But Teresa was still nowhere to be seen.

"Did we tell her where to go?" Thomas asked.

"No," Newt said, after a few minutes, "Did you?"

"No, I was more worried about you, you seemed a little stressed," Thomas admitted quietly so no one other than Newt could hear.

"Clint, go get the girl, she seems to know something about this place and if that's true I want her to answer questions," Newt ordered. Clint gave a small salute and went off to retrieve the girl.

"While we wait for them we can get started by discussing the Alby issue,"

"He went into the maze, looking ready to kill anybody that got in his way, what is there to discuss?" Winston asked.

"Alby has been our leader ever since the beginning, since he was the first one to be shoved in here. He deserves to be heard out at least," Newt countered, "That doesn't mean that we won't punish him for this, but we should take these facts into consideration. Now can anyone tell me exactly what happened with Alby?"

"After you and the greenie went to talk with the girl, Alby stormed off. Nobody followed him. He was pretty pissed, and I for one, did not want to be the one he took it out on. I guess he off to the weapons shed and got his bow and a knife or something, because the next thing I know Alby was marching to the doors, bow drawn, and knife and sword strapped to his belt," Zart recalled.

"Right, well," Newt was cutoff when Clint returned with Teresa in tow. She sent a glare at Newt, still not trusting him, and sat down beside Thomas.

"Now that we're all here, let's move on to the other matter at hand,"

"What other matter?" Frypan spoke up.

"This girl here says she knows a bit about how we all got here, what here is, and all that fun klunk," Newt answered, "And now she's gonna tell you all what she told me and Tommy,"

"Tommy? I thought you hated that name?" Teresa snorted at Thomas, "And what makes you think I'm going to tell these guys anything? You haven't answered any of my questions, why should I answer yours?"

Everyone fell silent at her outburst. Even Gally, the most most menacing out of the group, seemed just a bit put off by the girl's fury.

"Teresa, you're stuck just like the rest of us, might as well try to do something useful, and not just pout about the fact that I don't remember you like you want me to," Thomas criticized.

"Fine," and with that Teresa recounted everything she had told Newt and Thomas.

"Wait, so you're telling me that there is a way to get out of here?" Frypan asked, very skeptical of what he had just been told.

"Yes," she said.

"Ain't no way out girlie, I've been running that maze since I got here, and I haven't seen no shucking exit. Unless there's something else you're not telling us," A deep voice came from the back of the room.

"Minho, you're back early," Newt commented. Thomas turned around to see who Newt was talking to. Minho was tall and well built, obviously consistently running through the maze helped keep him shape. His dark hair had a wind blown look to it, and his dark eyes were locked on Teresa.

"Yes I'm sure," Teresa retorted, "If I knew any more I would tell you,"

"Uh-huh, sure you would. But if you think there is a way out, follow me," Minho started to the door.

"Minho wait," Newt called out.

"What?"

"You didn't happen to see Alby out there did you?"

"No, why would I see Alby in the maze?"

"I'll explain as you take us to where ever you're going to take us," Newt told him.

"Okay, who's all coming? I'm not taking all you shanks with me," Minho asked.

"Just myself, Thomas, and the girl," Newt answered. Minho seemed to accept that and went to lead the group to a small building out in the more wooded area of the Glade.

"Be careful and don't touch anything," Minho said as he unlocked the door, "Don't need you shanks shucking up all my hard work. Alby really did that? Shit,"

"Yeah, it's been a day, a long fucking day, and it isn't over yet," Newt sighed, "but this isn't a bloody slumber party, we've got work to do,"

Nobody knew what happened next, one moment Thomas was standing besides Newt, looking just as normal as the day he arrived, the next he was on the floor clutching his head in pain.


	5. Chapter 5

"What's wrong with him?" both Newt and Teresa demanded. Clint and Jeff spared a glance at each other, trying to decide which one them would have to give the news.

"Well," Jeff finally relented, "We have no idea,"

"What do you mean you have no idea? You're the bloody med-jacks! it's your job to know what's wrong with him and fix him!" Newt yelled.

"Hey! Hey, we got our jobs the same way everybody else did, it's not like we knew that much about fixing people up before this, so slim it will ya," Clint said, standing up for his partner. Newt snarled, fists clenched at his sides. If it hadn't been for Minho laying a hand on his shoulder he would have done something he would end up regretting.

"Come on man, let's go get you some food, when was the last time you ate anything?" Minho said trying to pull Newt away from the med-jacks, "You will be the first person to know when he wakes up," Minho forced Newt to turn away from the two boys and they started off to the homestead.

"You too girlie," Minho shouted over his shoulder at Teresa. She shot Minho a glare but followed nonetheless. The three sat alone, Minho being the one who actually ate anything. Newt was too concerned about Thomas to eat and Teresa was trying to figure the blond out.

"Why do you care for him so much? You just met him," She asked.

"It's none of your business," Newt snapped, angrily stabbing at a piece of carrot.

"Actually Newt, I'm kinda curious about that too. I mean the guy literally just showed up and within a day you guys were all buddy-buddy. You've never been that close with anyone, not even me," Minho commented.

"Look I don't know what you expect me to say, there's just something special about him. I don't know how to explain it, it's like when I'm with him something inside me clicks. It sounds buggin' weird, but I don't know how else to say it," Newt said with a soft sigh. He just felt so broken in that moment and he didn't know why.

"Oh my god..." Teresa gasped.

"What? You remember something?" Minho asked.

"Yeah," she started with a slow nod, "I'm going to try something, but I don't know if it will work,"

"Try what?"

"Shh! Newt?" Teresa asked the sulking boy, "You look bloody amazing for three in the fucking morning,"

Whatever Teresa had expected to happen, didn't. Newt continued to stare at her, angry confusion marring his normally neutral face.

"Was that supposed to do something? Because I feel so shucking better now," Newt asked, sarcasm dripping from each word.

"Well, I guess not," Teresa said, shoulders slumping in defeat.

"Come on, if neither of you are going to eat let's just get back to the map room and back to work," Minho grunted, not liking the tension between his two companions. Newt and Teresa grumbled quietly, but stopped when Minho shot them a frustrated glare.

The trio made their way back into the wooded area, they were almost to the map room when an ear shattering scream pierced their ears. Newt's head whipped around so fast he nearly lost his balance.

"Tom-" Newt began to call, but just as Thomas had nearly an hour earlier, he fell to the ground, hands buried in his golden hair clutching at his skull in pain.

"Newt!" Minho shouted as his friend crumpled to the ground. He rushed to Newt's side trying to determine the cause of the collapse.

"T- Tommy…" Newt whispered before succumbing to unconsciousness.

"Come on, we should get him to the med hut," Teresa said, placing a gentle hand on Minho's shoulder. The Asian boy bent his head in silent acknowledgement and picked Newt up bridal style moving to take him to the med hut. He laid the British boy on the bed adjacent to Thomas, a deep, sigh escaped his lips, Newt had been right about it being a long fucking day.

He found Teresa waiting for him just outside, leaning against a tree, brow furrowed in thought. Minho walked past her, expecting her to follow him to where ever he was going. He ended up leading them back to the map room hoping they would actually make there this time.

"Alright talk," Minho prompted, dropping into one the few chairs in the room,

"Well, when blondie said he felt a click when he was with Tom, I remembered something the creators did before sending him into the maze," she stated softly, almost ashamed at the memory. "Though I'm not what happened to Mr. Sunshine to cause him to pass out,"

"What did they do?" Minho barked.

"I'm not exactly sure, but I remember over hearing someone talking about how they made Newt Thomas' perfect half, and vise versa. I remember that before sending anyone into the maze the creators did a wipe, basically locking away any and all memories of life before the maze in the far reaches of our minds. Though it is possible to regain those memories, sometimes a word, phrase, or action can do it. Which is what happened with Tom, I think. Knowing that even the smallest thing could bring the memories back the creators were careful, making sure that nothing could accidentally prompt someone remembering. I think that's why they waited so long to send Tom in, they knew Newt would be the trigger for Tom's memories,"

"What does that even mean?"

"I don't know. I don't even understand how they could make someone a perfect half for someone else. It just sounds invasive," Teresa finished.

"So you're telling me that the creators, WCKD people, they made Newt and Thomas , what soul mates? How is that even possible? Why would they do that to them? Force them to be together? What if they ended up hating each other and then being forced to be together?"

"They did it because they saw that Newt and Thomas had a deep connection before they were sent into the maze. They did it to save them," Teresa said, eyes glazed over as if someone were making her say the words she was saying.

"Save them? The fuck does that mean?"

"I told you, I don't know. Now you want to show me what you were gonna show us earlier before Tom passed out or not?"

"Yeah, just one more question, what is Thomas to you?"

"He's like my little brother,"

Minho reluctantly accepted this answer and got up to go get the maps. He laid them all out on the center table for Teresa to look at. The two teens spent the next hour just pouring over the maps, looking for something, anything that could be a clue on how to get out of there. Minho was just about ready to collapse in frustration when a sharp knock on the door drew his attention away from the maps. Teresa looked up with a start, not realizing how long she had been staring at the blasted maps.

"Well, are you going to answer it?" she quipped, as the knocking continued and Minho just sat there. Minho stared at the door, still not fully processing what was happening, his brain not functioning properly after pouring over the maps for so long. Teresa just rolled her eyes and went to open the door herself since the runner didn't seem to be capable of such a simple task.

"What?" she asked as she opened the door.

"They're awake," was all that Jeff said before Minho was on his feet and out the door, shoving Jeff out of the way none too gently.

"Sorry about that," Teresa said before rushing off after Minho. She found Minho standing outside the med hut, hand frozen halfway to the handle.

"Aren't you going to go in?" she asked when she finally caught up.

"Y-yeah, it's just…"

"Just what? Afraid of what they might have remembered?" Teresa prompted. Minho let out a slow breath and nodded.

"Don't be afraid of that, if anything, them remembering is going to be a good thing," Teresa reassured. Minho nodded once more and finally opened the door.

Newt and Thomas were both sitting on Thomas' bed. Newt was holding Thomas as the brunette cried softly into Newt's shoulder. Newt also had tears trickling down his cheeks, but he didn't seem to notice as he comforted Thomas.

"Hey, you guys okay?" Minho asked, voice sounding hoarse and strained. Newt looked up at his friend but remained silent, his expression unreadable. The blond leaned down and whispered something in Thomas' ear causing the shorter boy to tighten his hold on Newt and bury his face deeper into the slim yet well toned shoulder. Teresa and Minho spared a glance at each other, it was clear Thomas was not okay.

"Do you guys need some more time? We can come back later," Teresa suggested. She wasn't sure if either boy was in any state to talk about what they just went through. Minho looked ready to protest that, but another look at Thomas sobbing into Newt's shoulder told him it was best if they left.

Newt gave them a short nod, he wanted to get Thomas calmed down before anyone started interrogating them.

"Okay, we'll be right outside when you're ready to talk to us," Teresa said, gently concern lacing her words. She grabbed Minho's wrist and lead him outside, leaving the two crying boys alone for the time being.

"They're gone Tommy, it's just me now," Newt murmured into the brunette's ear. He wasn't sure if Thomas heard him, but the hold around his waist lessened so he assumed Thomas had heard him.

"I can't believe I helped them put you in here," Thomas said so quietly newt would have missed it if he hadn't been as close to Thomas as he was. "And your sister! And everyone! God, why did I do it? I didn't want to, but they made me," Thomas sobbed, voice cracking under the stress of remembering everything.

"Shhh, hey now, breathe, breathe, it'll be alright," Newt soothed. He knew Thomas hadn't wanted to help the scientists that put them here, he remembered Thomas telling him how they had threatened him if he didn't help. But none of that was what was bothering Newt. No, the memory that was now plaguing his thoughts was about a test he had undergone just one day before they sent him into the maze.

"Tommy?" Newt asked.

"Ye- yeah?" Thomas answered through a hiccup.

"You know none of this is your fault right? Those people made you do it, made all of us do things that we didn't want to. They did things to us, all of us, including you, you have no right to blame yourself,"

"But- but your sister? Your leg? I was part of the reason this all happened! How can you not be mad at me, not hate me?"

"Because I remember all the good times we had together, how you would always tell me you wished we just runaway, just the two of us. You would tell me about how much you hated being forced to do those things, you would show me the bruises you would get when you fought against them. You didn't want this, you always tried to stop the creators, this was not your fault,"

"I remember that too, I also remember that just before you were sent into the maze they took you and did something to you, I could never find out what," Thomas said softly.

"You remember that?" Newt seemed surprised at the confession.

"Yeah, they wouldn't let me anywhere near you after. And the day after you were sent here they took me and did something to me, only telling me it would help more accurately track certain variables,"

Newt hummed in thought, hand moving to stroke Thomas' hair subconsciously, twirling the dark locks between his lithe fingers. Thomas leaned into the touch, craving the security he felt when he was with the blond. Newt's other hand rose up to cup Thomas' cheek, just barely, his fingers ghosted over the still damp tear streaks. Thomas looked up at Newt, eyes wide, a flush spreading up his neck.

"Newt?" Thomas squeaked.

"Yeah Tommy?" Newt's voice was distant and rough but his eyes told a different story. Thomas tilted his head up so he was looking directly into Newt's eyes. Both boys leaned forward until they were less than an inch away. Thomas' lids drooped shut as Newt's thumb brushed over the brunette's bottom lip. A small whimper escaped Thomas' throat, but he jerked away when the door to the med hut slammed against the wall.

"Something is wrong!" Gally exclaimed, "Newt get out from under Thomas and get out here, we have bigger problems than your sexual frustration,"

"Gally this better be bloody important," Newt snarled.

"It is, come on," Gally stated and walked out. A deep growl ripped it's way from Newt's chest, he was not happy about being interrupted again.

"Come on, we can continue this later. Gally needs you right now, so let's go see what the problem is. It'll also delay Minho and Teresa from questioning us for a while," Thomas said. He was curious about what the problem could be and hoped he might be able to help now that he remembered everything. Then it hit him, he remembered _everything,_ he remembered that the creators did build an exit, and he remembered how to get there.

"Newt!" Thomas shrieked, nearly falling off the bed in his excitement, blankets tangled around his legs. If it hadn't been for the fact that Newt was still sitting on the bed with him and had incredibly fast reflexes, Thomas would have hit the floor, hard.

"What?" Newt was worried that something was wrong.

"I remember how to get out,"


	6. Chapter 6

"Tommy, don't fuck with me," Newt said, suddenly hyper focused on each word the brunette was saying.

"I'm not! There is an exit! And the maze is the answer!" Thomas exclaimed.

"Newt I swear if you don't get your pale, British ass out here in the next five seconds I will lock the greenie in the slammer!" Gally yelled from somewhere outside.

"We are talking about this later," Newt said with a stern edge to his words, "Now let's go see what has Gally all worked up,"

Thomas clambered off Newt's lap and they moved to see what was causing such a panic. At first nothing seemed out of place, nothing was on fire or broken so that was a good sign. Newt was about to ask Gally what exactly the problem was when he heard a noise that had haunted his dreams since he first arrived at the Glade. It was then that he noticed the doors that kept the Glade closed off at night were still open.

"Shit, Gally get as many people as you can and go secure yourselves in the Gathering Hall. Minho, Teresa, and Thomas, you guys are coming with me! We need to make sure the maps are safe. Winston, Zart grab as many weapons as you can and go with Gally. Clint, Jeff, keep an eye on Ben, don't let him out of your sight. Everybody understand?" Newt commanded like a true leader. Everyone nodded then rushed off to do as they were told. Newt scanned the faces of three who remained with him, three differing looks of concern met his gaze.

"Come on, we need to keep the maps safe," Newt ran off towards the map room without another word. The other three quickly followed in suit, trying to ignore the fact that the sounds of the greivers were gaining volume. If Thomas hadn't been paying attention to where he was going he would have collided with Newt, unfortunately Minho and Teresa weren't as lucky and both ended up in a tangle of limbs behind the two boys.

"Newt?" Thomas asked, not noticing why the blond had stopped.

"Alby?" the concern clear as day in Newt's tone. Thomas' head snapped up to see Alby standing in front of the map room. There was something off about how he was holding himself, the way his eyes kept shifting wildly from side to side, the veins under his dark skin were bulging and pulsating a sickening dark color only slightly darker than his skin in the dim lighting of twilight.

"You!" Alby barked. In the blink of an eye he had drawn the sword from his belt and had the edge a hairs breath away from Thomas' throat. "You did this to us! You're the reason we're all fucking stuck in this shit hole!"

"Alby, calm down," Newt said, reaching to try to disarm the older boy.

"Calm down? Newt he's the fucking reason you have that god damn limp! And her! She was their little lap dog! She did everything they said without a second thought! How the fuck can you tell me to calm down when they are the ones that did this to us?" Alby was screaming in pure rage by the end of his rant.

"Because I remember everything, I remember why they did this, I remember that Thomas never wanted to be a part of it. I remember it all Alby, but I'm not mad at him for it, her," Newt pointed at Teresa, "Maybe a little bit, but that's besides the point,"

"You remember?" Minho asked from somewhere on the ground.

"Yeah,"

Somewhere in the distance a screamed pierced the through the unstable calm that surrounded them. The shriek seemed to set Ably off, he darted forward, blade kissing the flesh on Thomas' neck. Newt, not knowing how, had grabbed Alby's wrist and had now had the larger boy pinned beneath him. The once pristine sword now lay in the grass, dirt sticking to the wet blood.

"Newt?" Thomas asked, a hand on his neck covering the wound.

"Minho get Thomas inside, NOW!" Newt ordered, his eyes never leaving the struggling teen beneath him, "Alby, what happened to you? You were always so levelheaded, and now… I'm sorry," Newt unsheathed the knife from Alby's belt, "I'm sorry Alby,"

A greiver was encroaching on them, it's grotesque slick body lurching and swaying with each step. Another scream, this one closer, distracted the horrific excuse for a science experiment. Newt didn't want to waste his opportunity and drove the knife deep into his former friend's abdomen. The blond turned away from his fallen leader, grabbed the sword, and raced to the map room. Finding the door locked he pounded against the wood. He could hear the greiver making it's way back to the clearing the shack stood in. It wasn't alone.

"Minho open this bloody door!" Newt shouted, glancing back at the approaching monsters. One of them had a body clutched in it's tail. The beast threw the body at Newt's feet. Even with how devastated the person was Newt could still make out the boy's face, it was Chuck. Newt had to choke back a sob, the kid hadn't even gotten the chance to make a name for himself in the Glade.

"Minho!" he screamed, pounding relentlessly on the door. A noise from above froze the lanky teen where he stood. Slowly he lifted his head up. Sitting there on top of the map room was a third greiver. Slime oozed from it's shapeless body, dripping down on Newt's head. Newt steadied himself, raising the sword in a defensive stance. He turned around, back pressing up against the door, steeling his nerves for the inevitable attack. But it never came. Instead Newt found himself falling back on to the floor.

"Shit, Newt, I'm sorry, we had a bit of problem in here," Minho said from above the blond.

"Took you fucking long enough. What kind of problem prevented you from opening the bloody door?" Newt grumbled as he stood up.

"That," Minho said pointing to Ben who was bound to a chair in the corner.

"Oh, how the hell did he get in here?"

"Don't know, but it looked like he was gonna try and burn the maps,"

"Never mind him right now, how's Thomas?"

"He could be better, but he'll live. The sword didn't cut deep, but it was close to a major artery, thankfully it only skimmed the external jugular vein," Teresa reported. Newt and Minho just stared at her, not fully processing what she said, "What? I studied anatomy before being sent here,"

Thomas sat against the wall, a scrap of fabric wrapped around his neck. He looked at Newt with a small smile. When Newt saw Thomas he released the breath he didn't know he had been holding.

"Tommy, thank fuck you're okay," Newt said moving to hug the dark haired teen.

"Thanks to you. If you hadn't moved as fast as you did, who knows what would've happened to me," Thomas said, voice raspy.

"I don't even know what happened, one minute I was standing next to you, the next I had Alby pinned under me. How are you feeling?"

"Better now that I know you're not dead,"

Newt laughed, the joyous sound filled with hollow undertones. In the corner Ben started screaming, rocking back and forth, the chair creaking ominously. Minho picked up the discarded sword and walked over to Ben.

"I thought I told you to shut your shucking mouth," Minho snapped at the crazed boy. Ben just screamed and snapped his teeth in Minho's general direction. Another jerk and the chair cracked, freeing Ben from his restraints. He darted forward, teeth snapping, spit flying in all directions.

"Minho, do it," Newt said, grave acceptance resting heavily on the order.

"Newt?" Minho asked as he fended Ben off.

"Either you do it or I will," Newt said.

Minho didn't answer, but the resignation in his eyes told Newt that Minho knew what he needed to do. Ben dropped to the dirty floor seconds later, the sword still protruding from his chest.

"I'm sorry Ben," Minho whispered, falling to his knees beside his former comrade. No one said anything, giving the Asian boy time to grieve. They were brought out of their silence when something crashed into the door. Another crash came from the roof.

"Shit!" Newt said.

"What's going on?" Thomas asked.

"Greivers,"

"Greivers?" Minho questioned.

"Yeah, there were at least three of them out there before you finally let me in. Since the doors to the maze didn't close we're basically just an open buffet for them,"

"So what do we do?" Teresa asked.

"Pray the door and walls hold," Newt said. He went back to sit with Thomas, pulling the brunette into his arms. Minho and Teresa didn't respond as they joined the two boys on the floor. The four teenagers settled in for a long, torturous night.


	7. Chapter 7

Newt was first to wake, jerking upright as memories of the previous night came flooding back. Alby, Chuck, Ben, all dead, and there were probably others who had fallen victim to the greivers. He glanced down at the sleeping forms beside him, Teresa had her head nestled on Minho's chest, and in turn, Minho's nose was tucked into her dark waves. In contrast to the peaceful picture Minho and Teresa made, Thomas was tightly curled up on the floor, eyes clenched as fear painted it's cool strokes over normally content features.

"Tommy?" Newt whispered to the brunette, timidly shaking the teen's shoulder to wake him, "Tommy you need to wake up, you're just dreaming,"

Thomas was too lost in his nightmare, no matter what Newt tried he couldn't rouse him.

"Dammit Tommy, wake up!" Newt yelled. His loud exclamation woke Teresa and Minho, but Thomas stayed locked in his unconscious mind. Thomas' soft whimpers were turning to fearful mumblings, his head now shaking from side to side.

"Newt, what's going on?" Teresa asked as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"I don't know, I can't wake him up!" Newt was frantic, he didn't know how to wake Thomas without hurting the teen.

"Move," Teresa said, pushing Newt to the side and kneeling down in front of Thomas. "Tom! Wake up!" she shouted while slapping him, hard, across the cheek.

"What the fuck?" Newt growled, "Why the fuck would you slap him?"

"Well it worked," Teresa answered with a pointed look. Newt shifted his gaze to see that she was correct, Thomas was now sitting straight up, eyes wide.

"Tommy! Are you alright?" Newt asked, still worried about what had caused the boy's nightmare.

"Newt? Oh thank god," Thomas said, a relieved sigh following his words. He seemed to calm down upon seeing the blond, but there was still a hint of hesitation to his movements.

"Are you okay?" Newt asked again.

"I will be once we get out of here. Minho where are the maps?" Thomas asked, not fully answering Newt's question.

"Uhh, right here," the Asian motioned to a couple large trunks.

"Get them, all of them, and extra paper as well," Thomas said. Minho didn't bother to ask why, he figured he wouldn't get a clear answer just yet. Thomas took the closest maps to him, scanning them intently. The minutes ticked by and the tension in the air only grew more palpable. Papers continued to be shuffled around until Thomas froze. His hand shot toward a spare sheet of wax paper, laying it atop of the pile he had accumulated, and began tracing something. There on the sheet that Thomas wrote on was a single letter, F.

"How?" Minho asked, he had studied the maps for as long as he could remember and never found any trace of an answer.

"The maze is a code. Now you and Teresa stay here, take each map section from each day and lay them on top of each other, that should eventually give you the code. Newt, we need to find out what happened to the rest of the Glade last night," Thomas commanded, looking every bit like a true leader.

"But-" Minho started to protest.

"No buts, you've been mapping for at least two years, you should have the entire code by now," Thomas cut him off, "Now get to work, we'll be back in a bit,"

Newt kept quiet as he followed Thomas out of the map room, the sudden change in the brunette's demeanor intriguing him. When they entered the clearing just outside Newt froze, the events of the night before flashing through his mind. His chocolate eyes moved to where Alby's body should have been. It wasn't there, neither was Chuck's, the entire clearing was empty. Thomas noticed Newt's sudden shift in posture and took the blond's hand in his own to ease the uneasiness Newt was feeling.

"Come on let's find Gally and the others," Thomas said, not wanting to make Newt talk about things if he wasn't ready to. The two of them still had a lot they needed to discuss as it was, and this was not the time for it.

"Good that," Newt replied, doing his best to keep voice steady. They walked silently, hand in hand, to the gathering hall. The door was still closed, it appeared that the structure had held up through the night.

"Gally? You in there?" Newt shouted while knocking on the door. After some shuffling and annoyed grumblings the door creaked open.

"Shuck, you guys made it through the night?" Gally asked.

"More or less, who all is in there with you?" Newt answered.

"Come in and see for yourself," Gally gestured for Newt and Thomas to enter the hall. Thomas and Newt shared a skeptical look but entered the building. Scattered throughout the hall in various states of wakefulness were Winston, Frypan, Jeff, Zart, and few other boys Thomas didn't know the names of.

"Where's Clint?" Newt asked Jeff.

"Ben killed him," Jeff whispered, "We went to check on him like you said, but by the time we got there he had somehow gotten out of the restraints. He was mad, screaming about how the greenie here was gonna be the end of us all. He charged at Clint, grabbing his throat, he snapped Clint's neck. I ran after that, got here just in time,"

"Shit, who else did we lose?" Thomas queried.

"I'm not sure, haven't had the chance to do a head count yet," Gally supplied.

"Okay, then our first priority should be finding everyone who survived. Find 'em and bring 'em back here so we can figure out what we're gonna do next," Newt stated after a few tense moments of silence.

"Do you have a plan? Because it sounds like you do," Gally asked, wanting an idea of what the upcoming gathering was going to be about.

"We've got the start of a plan, but we're gonna need everyone's help to flesh it out,"

Gally looked skeptical, the fact that they didn't have a full plan, one of their med-jacks was dead, and considering both Newt and Thomas had been bed ridden for half of the previous day didn't sit well with him. Zart and Winston had similar looks on their faces. The confidence Thomas felt when he was in the map room was quickly dissipating under the scrutiny of the older teens.

"Look, I don't want to have to explain all this klunk twice, so here's what we're gonna do; Gally, you take Jeff and Fry and head over to the Homestead, find any survivors and bring hem back here. Winston and Zart, you two are gonna go check the Bloodhouse and over by the gardens. The greenie and I'll check by the Deadheads. Got it?" Newt said, tone blunt, leaving no room for argument, arms crossed over his chest, ready to shut down anyone who tried to fight him on this.

The five keepers present shared a look but remained silent, they all knew better then to get on Newt's bad side, Alby hadn't made him second-in-command for nothing. Gally was the first to make any move to leave, motioning for Jeff and Fry to follow. Winston and Zart left only seconds later, eyes carefully avoiding Newt's critical gaze. After everyone had left, he and Thomas took their own leave, walking over to the forested area, a tense silence hanging between them. The silence was only punctuated by the abnormal quiet that pressed deep into every fiber of their beings. The normal buzz of boys working was gone, even the maze and it's constant bone rattling groans had fallen silent, blanketing the Glade with an ominous sense of foreboding.

As the two boys approached the tree line Newt's pace faltered, slowing to almost a complete stop. Thomas turned to face him, an unspoken question painted in the creases of his furrowed brow. The taller teen shook his head, blonde hair falling over his coffee colored eyes, giving him a beaten down look. Newt did his best to settle his agitated nerves and stepped forward, letting the shadows hide his growing trepidation. Thomas remained quiet but slipped hand into Newt's, in hopes of easing some of the other teens anxiety.

"What are we going to tell them?" Thomas finally asked once they were a good distance from the edge of the forest.

"I have no bloody idea," Newt began, " I really don't think telling them we got our memories back is a brilliant plan. But how the fuck are we going to explain how you just so suddenly knew how to get out of here? You seem to have this whole plan laid out in that pretty little head of yours, but you haven't told anyone exactly what it is. It's kinda hard to believe you when you won't tell me anything, you know? I would've thought you would've at least told me something by now because of whatever we got going on between us, but guess I was wrong. And don't even get me started on that, because that's another whole fucking matter that we need to talk about.

"But we don't have time for that do we? No, because after what happened to Alby I'm supposed to be in charge, and right bloody good that's done anyone. Clint, Ben, and Chuck are all dead, and who knows how many others! Dammit Tommy, and now you want us all to just blindly follow you into some half brained plan to get us out of this bloody maze? I know you remember what it's like out there! So why should we go with you?" Newt's voice grew increasingly louder as he continued his rant. His usually warm brown eyes were cold and accusing.

Thomas slowly shrunk into himself, having the one person he trusted with his life yell at him in such a harsh manner shook his already fragile nerves. He slipped his hand out of Newt's grasp and turned away, he couldn't bear having Newt's cold, mistrusting gaze on him any longer. Taking another step away from Newt, body shaking as a silent sob tore through him, he made up his mind as to what he needed to do.

"I'm sorry," was the last thing Newt heard Thomas say before the brunette was racing out of the trees and into the maze. Newt watched, rooted to the ground, as Thomas ran, away from the relative safety of the Glade and away from Newt. Snapping out of his daze, the blonde jolted back to reality, racing to the map room to get Minho.

"Newt?" Minho asked when the blonde slammed the door to the small hut open.

"I need you to go out in the maze, now!" Newt gasped out, not waiting for answer before he was running out towards the maze, his leg threatening to collapse underneath him at any moment.

"Newt! Stop!" Minho shouted from somewhere behind him, but all Newt could think about was finding Thomas. He had almost made it to the east door when Minho tackled him to the ground, pinning him down when he tried to get back up.

"Let me go Minho! I need to find Thomas!" Newt snarled, thrashing to get out of the runner's hold.

"What the shuck is going on here?" Gally demanded as he ran over the scene Newt and Minho were creating.

"Ask him, he's lost it, trying to run into the maze for some shuck reason or something," Minho growled, still keeping a tight hold on the crazed blonde.

"Newt, what the fuck? What's gotten in to you man?" Gally inquired.

"Thomas, he ran in to the maze, gotta go find him," Newt answered.

"Newt calm the fuck down, I'll go find him, you need to chill, your leg can't take anymore," Minho said, "If you don't we'll throw in the slammer,"

That did the trick, Newt slumped in defeat, going limp under Minho's body. The Asian held Newt for another minute before letting off him.

"I'll go find him, you need to calm down, drink some water or something, figure out what happened last night, get everyone settled down here, good that?"

"Fine, whatever, just bring him back in one piece," Newt sighed, not bothering to get up off the ground where he lay.

"I promise," and with that Minho ran into the maze in search of a distressed brunette.


End file.
